Eating low-glycemic foods can help you lose weight and lower blood sugar levels. Try this simple, satisfying food plan, and eat well without feeling deprived...

You’re doing everything right – exercising, eating fewer calories and minimizing fat. But you’re not dropping as much weight as you’d like.

What’s going on?

A groundbreaking study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association may explain.

Researchers found that certain people lose more weight on diets with more fat and fewer high-glycemic carbohydrates (like white bread).

The participants who lost the most were those who get a big surge of insulin every time they eat refined carbs like an English muffin or a bowl of cereal.

Unfortunately, there’s no simple test to find out if you’re in that group. But it’s more likely if you’re apple-shaped (with more weight in your belly) rather than pear-shaped (with more weight in your hips).

Either way, it may not matter.

The study’s author believes that going the low-glycemic route is an effective weight-loss method for anyone, no matter what your body type.

“The foods we eat today – bagels, breakfast cereals, fat-free cookies and chips, foods made with high-fructose corn syrup – put the body under great stress,” says David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital Boston and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

“These foods cause surging and crashing [in blood sugar] and put the body at risk for weight gain,” he says.

A low-glycemic plan is also good for those with diabetes or pre-diabetes. In a Canadian study, patients with type 2 diabetes who ate lower-glycemic foods reduced their levels of a blood-glucose measurement associated with heart disease and other ailments.

And in Dr. Ludwig’s study, all the low-glycemic dieters increased “good” cholesterol levels and reduced triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood) – thus improving their measurements for two other diabetes risk factors.

What Is a Low-Glycemic Diet?To understand this diet, you need to know the difference between high- and low-glycemic foods.

Glycemia relates to the presence of glucose, or sugar, in your blood. When you eat any food with carbohydrates, your blood sugar level rises. How much it rises and for how long depends on the type of carb consumed.

The main difficulty was that dieters often turned to refined carbohydrates instead, and ended up feeling hungry much of the time.

“We needed a new approach that didn’t limit one class of nutrients, but focused on the quality of carbs and fats,” Dr. Ludwig says.

Ludwig and his colleagues found that eating low-glycemic foods struck a happy medium between low-fat and low-carb diets. You can lose weight without eliminating carbs, as long as you choose them wisely.

You can also enjoy healthy fats and proteins, which stifle the surge-and-crash blood sugar cycle that leads to excess hunger and weight gain.

How to Follow the Slow-Carb DietLow-glycemic eating is surprisingly easy. Here’s what to do:

1. Don’t count calories.“Calorie-restricted diets are too difficult to follow,” Dr. Ludwig says. In his study, participants were encouraged to eat when hungry and stop when full – and they still lost weight.

Because lower-glycemic eating decreases hunger and increases satiation, you end up eating fewer calories. (If you have diabetes, consult your doctor about how much and how often to eat. And if you’re an emotional eater and find it hard to listen to your body’s hunger signals, you may still need to watch your portion sizes. An eater’s support group can help.)

Instead, choose lean meats and lower-fat dairy, and get fats from such foods as olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and fish.

3. Eat nonstarchy veggies and beans.
You can eat vegetables – but not corn and potatoes – as often as you like.

Nutritious, moderately starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes and acorn squash are also fine in limited amounts.

4. Eat high-fiber fruit.
Apples, pears, peaches, berries, citrus and other fruits grown in cooler regions have a lower glycemic effect than tropical fruits such as pineapples and bananas.

5. When you eat a carbohydrate, eat a fat- and/or protein-containing food along with it. While some foods are higher on the glycemic index than others, everything you eat in a meal will affect its overall “glycemic load.”

Adding protein and fat causes the meal to burn more slowly, lowering its effect on blood sugar levels.

For example, a tuna sandwich has a lower glycemic load than just two pieces of bread.

6. Choose minimally processed grains. Forget white flour – eat grains as close to their original state as possible.

When buying bread, look for “whole wheat” (or other whole grains) as the main ingredient.

Are You Eating as Healthy As You Think?Many people claim to eat healthy when they’re actually doing their body a disservice with the food they consume. Take this quiz to find out if you’re eating as healthy as you think.

The information contained on www.lifescript.com(the "Site") is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for advice from your doctor or health-care professional. This information should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. Always seek the advice of a qualified health-care professional regarding any medical condition. Information and statements provided by the site about dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Lifescript does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, third-party products, procedures, opinions, or other information mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by Lifescript is solely at your own risk.